Owners at Work

SUMMARY: In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Michael Darger, an economic development specialist with the University of Minnesota Extension, about business succession planning, ownership transition, and the growing importance of preserving locally owned businesses as Baby Boomer owners retire. Michael discusses the critical role economic developers can play in helping communities retain...

  SUMMARY:     In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Mike Brady of 40  Million  Owners about how the firm helps ESOP companies grow through strategic,  values -aligned acquisitions. Mike explains how their three-phase framework—design, execution, and integration—guides employee-owned firms through M&A while preserving their ownership culture. We discuss how 40  Million  Owners  fills  a...

SUMMARY: In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Zoe Schlag of Common Trust and Mark Hand of the Purpose Trust Ownership Network (PTON) to explore the growing momentum behind Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the U.S. Zoe shares her journey from early-stage and impact investing to co-founding Common Trust, an organization dedicated to helping mission-driven businesses transition to e...

SUMMARY: In this episode of  Owners at Work , we sit down with Todd Leverette and Kyle Chin-How of Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H)—the 2025 recipient of the John Logue Award in Employee Ownership, which we present annually to organizations making a lasting and transformative impact in the field. A&H is a mission-driven investment firm focused on financing worker buyouts that create 100% emp...

Guests : Danny Massey, Head of Strategy and Communications at Expanding ESOPs SUMMARY: In this episode of the Owners at Work podcast, we speak with Danny from Expanding ESOPs, a new national initiative focused on dramatically scaling employee ownership through policy change and public advocacy. Danny shares his journey from labor journalism and the Fight for $15 campaign to leading this effort to...

  SUMMARY:   In this episode Chris Cooper sits down with Jim O'Brien founder and current President of Go2Partners, a 100% ESOP Company. We talk about the interesting way in which Go2Partners was founded and funded by the employees themselves, why employee ownership was an attractive choice for him and the founders of the company, and how becoming employee owned impacted the way in which the compan...

  SUMMARY: One of the exciting happenings in the world of employee ownership today is the proliferation of different models and methods for bringing employees into the ownership of a company. In this episode we discuss the Direc t Stock Ownership model that Chip Cargas, Founder of Cargas Systems, implemented at his company. We also discussed where the model took him, and this next stage of his ent...

Guest s :   Olga Prushinskaya and Jamie Pockrandt , Democracy at Work Institute   Summary: The second most  common form of employee ownership in the United States is the worker cooperative where workers participate in both the financial success and governance of the firms .   Today there are over 750 worker cooperatives in the United States, which is triple the amount that existed in 2012 . How do...

Guest : Campbell McDonald, Ownership Works   SUMMARY: Much of the work for raising awareness and advocating for supportive policies for further expansion relies on data collection. When making the case for employee ownership, it is one thing to say that, in theory, employee ownership can benefit workers, companies, and communities. It is quite another to prove such claims through the collection of...

Guest : Gina Schaefer SUMMARY: For 38 years, the OEOC has gathered hundreds of people from across the employee ownership community at our Annual Conference and every year, we invite a keynote speaker to address those in attendance. This year, we invited Gina Schaefer, the founder, CEO, and selling owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, which became 100% employee-owned in 2021. Her story of how her c...

SUMMARY: When we think about expanding awareness about employee ownership, we often think of the United States and how much more work we have to do. However, the movement to expand the prevalence and awareness of employee ownership goes well beyond US borders. In this episode, we highlight an international example of this effort. We speak with Rodrigo Fernandez del Valle and Gonzalo Hernandez Guti...

SUMMARY: When we look into the field of employee ownership three major models come to mind, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, and employee-owned trusts. But practitioners are always looking to improve existing models and in some rare cases develop new ones. In this first episode of season five we speak with David Ellerman and Tej Gonza of the Institute for Economic Democ...

SUMMARY Back in 2018 the  Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely . One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations. Those organizations include The Evergreen...

SUMMARY Back in 2018 the  Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely . One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations. Those organizations include The Evergreen...

S UMMARY   Back in 2018 the Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely . One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations. Those organizations include The Evergre...

SUMMARY Back in 2018 the  Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely . One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations. Those organizations include The Evergreen...

SUMMARY: For too long, cooperatives have been cast to the margins of our economy and discussions around economic development and community building. Yet, there are numerous examples throughout the US and across the globe demonstrating how cooperatives serve as a viable organizational form, allowing individuals and communities to achieve their economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. I...

SUMMARY: If one thing is true, its that the word ownership has baggage – every person has a different conception of what it means. In this episode we speak with Chris Mackin, who has worked in the employee ownership community for decades, to talk about a recent article he published on the multiple meanings of ownership. We discuss how being aware of these multiple meanings can inform the work we d...

SUMMARY: In this episode Chris Cooper speaks with Eric Zaleski and  Michael Rosendahl of PCE Investment Bankers, a bout what business owners should be thinking about, and doing, to prepare for a business succession. In many cases, business owners see succession planning as something that will take place far off in the future, as something that can wait. Or it seems like an enormously complex issue...

  Guest : Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla SUMMARY: In this episode we sit down with two valuation experts,   Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla of Apple Growth Partners. The conversation is wide ranging and includes discussion of high level trends we saw in 2022 that will impact company valuations, what their general 2023 outlook is, and what they are watching for. More specific conversations also incl...

Guest : Jeff Kelley, Hamill Manufacturing Company   SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO, selling owner, and current Chairman of Hamill Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania based precision and fabricating company which serves the defense, aerospace, and power generation industries. We talk to Jeff about what led him to begin working at the company in 1976 (which is father owned),...

In this episode we sit down with Bina Smith who is the HR Generalist and Communication Committee chair at Palmier Donavin, a 100% employee-owned company. The interview covers a wide range of areas and draws on Bina's 8 years of experience serving on her companies communication committee. The discussion includes how to build an ownership culture at a company with multiple locations and a complex pr...

So, what exactly are state employee ownership centers? What do they do, and why do we need more of them?  This episode is a re-broadcast of an interview originally aired by Owners to Owners – another podcast that focuses on employee ownership. Jesse Tyler, the host of Owners to Owners, s i t s down with Matt Cropp of the Vermont Center for Employee Ownership, Steve Storkan of the Employee Ownershi...

SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Deanna Colombo of Butler/Till a women owned, 100% employee-owned, and Certified B Corporation marketing agency located in Rochester NY. We talk about all things culture and communication, and how both can be maintained through periods of rapid change and growth. In the past two years, Butler/Till has nearly doubled its workforce, opened up a new headquarters,...

SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Corey Rosen, founder of the National Center for Employee Ownership about a his new book he co-authored with business reporter John Case. The interview is wide ranging and touches upon what is driving economic inequality today, how employee ownership is a practical and transformative solution, the role of private equity in employee ownership, the importance of...